Bophuthatswana (SWM)
Bophuthatswana (officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana, Tswana: Repaboleki ya Bophuthatswana) is a partially recognized landlocked state located in central Southern Africa. It is bordered to the north by Botswana and to the south, west and east by South Africa. It shares a small strip of land on a portion of its southern border with KwaNdebele, another partially recognized nation. Bophuthatswana was established in 1961 by the South African white minority government as a homeland for the Tswana people of South Africa, as part of the then-ruling National Party policy of Separate Development (known internationally as "Apartheid"). It was granted self-government on 1 June 1972 and achieved full independence from South Africa on 6 December 1977. Only recognized by its fellow black homelands and South Africa, Bophuthatswana is considered to be a puppet of the Pretoria government of South Africa. The nation is characterized as the most prosperous and powerful among all the other ethnic homelands, followed closely by the Transkei. The Bophuthatswana Defense Force (BDF) has a comparatively large military of 8,000 active personnel and 3,000 further reserves. The BDF and much of Bophuthatswana's civil service is heavily subsidized by the South African government, although this expense has been winding down in effort to make the nation more politically independent, and by extension, further legitimize Separate Development. The former regime of Lucas Mangope, who governed Bophuthatswana from its creation in 1972, was ousted in the 1994 coup d'etat. This ran parallel to internal strife in South Africa, where moderate elements of the then-ruling National Party were driving South Africa toward the dismantling of Separate Development and full democratization. When the right-wing security forces and the Conservative Party put an end to this and took over government, Mangope was offered the chance to return to Bophuthatswana to complete his term. He however decided to retire. Fairchance Madingoane, one of Mangope's proteges, was appointed as Acting President. In terms of the Constitution Act of 1978, Bophuthatswana is structured as a unitary presidential republic, wherein the directly elected President is the head of state and head of government, the National Assembly is the unicameral legislature, and the Supreme Court makes out the judiciary. The country is divided into three tiers of government: national, regional and local. Several districts exist on the regional level, and on the local level can be found cities, towns and chieftainships. Mmabatho is the capital. Fairchance Madingoane, nearing the end of his term as Acting President, formed the Bophuthatswana Independence Party (BIP) as a breakaway of the Bophuthatswana Democratic Party (BDP), and won the subsequent 1997 election. He has remained in power since then. The National Assembly has also since been split between the BIP and the BDP, with many political commentators now regarding Bophuthatswana as a two-party state. History Politics and government Military Main article: Bophuthatswana Defense Force The Bophuthatswana Defense Force (BDF) is the largest and most powerful military among the homeland states. Since the country is landlocked, the BDF consists only of the Army and the Air Force. It is organized into six military regions. The BDF was formerly known as the Bophuthatswana National Guard, and was consisted of only 125 men at its establishment in 1977 - right before the country's nominal independence. The BDF proper was established in 1979, with Colonel Jack Turner (formerly of the South African Defense Force) as its chief. Foreign relations Main article: Union of South African States See also * * Category:RSA-SWM Category:Bophuthatswana (SWM)